A very common challenge that students face when learning English is the precise expression
of past simple, regular verbs. It's something that is easy to understand. But so often when
speaking, students don't always quite get it right. This mostly affects students who
are beginners, but sometimes students who have shown up in my intermediate level classes,
and even advanced classes, struggle to get it right. So in this video, we're going to
look at how to get the past simple regular verb tense under control. Today, we're going
to focus on the pronunciation of past tense regular verbs. Past tense precision is really
important if you need to demonstrate a higher level of English in something like a job interview
or a high stakes English tests like IELTS, TOEFL or CAE. Being in control of the past
tense regular verbs will ensure that you have more error free sentences, which will help
reduce the likelihood of potential misunderstandings. In this video, we're going to review what
exactly the past simple is. Then we'll quickly review irregular verbs before we launch into
the form and pronunciation of the regular verbs. At the end, we'll go through some simple
techniques to help you be more precise when you speak. Before we start with a quick review
of the past simple, be sure to subscribe to this channel for more English tips, strategies
and practice. So the past simple is mostly used to express completed actions in the past.
Yes, I know there are some situations where it can be used differently even to talk about
the present. But today, we're focusing on the most common use completed actions in the
past. For example, we could talk about the recent past. Yesterday I watched a movie.
Last week I visited a friend, or even actions from earlier today. This morning I called
my parents. Yes, in some languages, you might use a tense that is similar to the present
perfect for an action on the same day. But in English, even actions from one hour ago,
are usually expressed in the past simple. We can also talk about the distant past with
the past symbol. Many years ago, I graduated from high school or many years ago, the Romans
ruled what is now modern Europe. Both work now, we're going to look at regular verbs
in this video, but I do want to quickly review irregular verbs. Irregular verbs are the verbs
where the spelling changes completely. Like in, I went to a movie, or I saw him yesterday.
I knew this would happen. I thought it was a good idea. It's funny. A lot of students
find these easier, because they are so different in form, that they are really noticeable when
you're listening to them. And it's also really noticeable when they're wrong. It sounds unusual
to say I thinked it was a good idea or I buyed my mother a present. The regular verbs can
actually be harder because they're more similar. And yes, sometimes when people who live in
Canada, the USA or Australia speak, and sometimes they speak quickly. An untrained ear might
not always hear that final E D sound, but I assure you, it's there. Let's move on and
take a closer look at three different ways we pronounce past simple regular verbs. First,
when we have a voiced consonant or vowel sound, we add a voiced ending sound. D. Don't worry
if you don't understand that completely. To be honest, I don't love these types of explanations.
If you find it helpful to know this, great! If you find it weird, just keep watching.
For all the language experts out there a voiced consonant or vowel is a sound that has a vibration
in your throat when you say it. For example, when you say live, or amaze, you can at least
theoretically, feel your throat vibrate. Try it out with me. Live. Amaze. Fine. Great.
We'll talk about unvoiced sounds later. So for these words, we add a 'd' sound. Live
Lived devise devised, drain, drained, travel, travelled. Remember, remembered, rhyme, rhymed,
nudge, nudged, breathe, breathed. By adding the 'd' sound to these verbs they become past
simple. Let's move on to the next sound. When we have unvoiced consonants, we end with a
't' sound. Unvoiced sounds do not have a vibration in your throat. Help, laugh, miss. No vibration.
Again, don't worry too much about remembering these detailed grammatical descriptions. But
I want to show that once in a while there is some logic to English, it's rare, but it
happens. So for these words, we add a 't' sound at the end. Help, helped. Clap, clapped,
walk, walked, dance, danced, ask, asked, watch, watched, thank, thanked unearth, unearthed.
So for these verbs, they become past simple when you add that sound to the end. Finally,
we have root words ending in T or D. If your root word ends in t or d, you will add an
ID sound. Keep in mind, and this is very important, whenever you add an ID sound, you will always
add an extra syllable to the word. For example, need, needed. Want, wanted, decide, decided,
attend, attended. So notice that difference with the other two types of sounds added to
create past simple verbs. There is no extra syllable. Live, lived. Help, helped. But notice
this needed, wanted. That's two syllables. Great. Wonderful. Now I know what's happening.
You're thinking? Great. I understand. Thank you, Mark, and thank you II too. But no, it's
not over you understand. But I don't want you to understand, I want you to practice
and internalise the language. And I think you want you to never get it wrong again.
And for this to happen, you must learn the grammar deeply. Get it into the muscles of
your mouth. So let's practice. I'm going to say at once slowly, listen and repeat after
me. Yesterday I walked home from work. When I was younger, I lived in Vancouver. I attended
University in England. I laughed so hard during the movie. I asked my parents how they met.
I watched a movie last night. Great. And by the way, don't worry if you had any difficulty
at the higher speed. Practice slowly if you need to, and build up speed over time. Now
an even better way to do this is to tell a longer story about you. I'll tell you a story
about me. But it's going to use both regular and irregular past simple. When you're finished
listening. You should write your own story and use it to practice. A few years ago, I
travelled back to Canada and visited my family and friends. It was a long flight because
we stopped in China on the way to Canada. We waited in the airport for five hours. My
wife slept, but I couldn't. When we arrived in Vancouver, my wife was amazed. She loved
the mountains and the forests. We hiked. We walked along the beach, and we checked out
many of the city's historical sites. We also spent time with my family. When it was over.
We were sad that it ended. Okay, so how about you? Have you got a story to tell? I'm sure
you do. Write it down. use a mix of past simple, regular and irregular verbs. And then practice,
practice, practice, practice until the muscles in your mouth, learn to add the 'd', 't' or
'id' sound. Maybe even record it on your phone and listen, or share it with a teacher or
tutor. Also, don't go too quickly. It's a great idea to practice it slow. And then as
you get more familiar with the sounds, and get the muscles involved, practice a bit faster
and faster. And that is all I hope you enjoyed learning a fun and awesome way to improve
your past simple regular verb pronunciation. If you want to continue to develop your pronunciation
or you just want to brush up on your grammar or vocabulary, make sure you head to www.e2english.com
and sign up for our free courses.